3pt2 Only Happy When It Rains
by Lamby
Summary: When Xavier agreed to take in the mutant girl Morose he got more than he bargained for. When her powers threaten to tear the X-Men apart, answers come from an unusual source.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

Scene One

The large, saggy armchair dwarfed the frail little girl who sat stiffly in it. There was a shadow of fear in the back of her mind that if she relaxed into its folds she might never make it out again. Her matchstick thin elbows braced themselves against the arms of the chair. Her fingers with their scruffy, bitten nails unconsciously traced the swirling patterns of the fabric. She wore a shapeless grey cotton dress that hung to her ankles and flat black shoes. Her eyes were albino pink and her lank hair hung in grubby white bangs almost to her shoulders. The very tips of her hair were dark brown, testament that her mutation had only recently occurred. A heavy fringe covered two stubby goat-like horns that protruded from her forehead.

The mutant girl's chosen name was Morose, and she was the newest addition to the Xavier Institute. As she stared down Professor Xavier across the lush confines of his private office, Morose realised that she detested being here. Hated it, loathed it, and would do anything to get out of this stuffy office and away from this whining old man. Outside the wind was howling. A tree branch tapped an irritating rhythm against the glass of the office's window. Clouds slid bleakly across the sky, strewing rain in bursts and flurries. The mansion's gutters were filled to overflowing. The burble of running water added its own melancholy notes to the screaming wind.

Through their psychic connection, Morose felt the Professor's hurt that she thought of him as a whining old man. She refused to be repentant, thrusting her hatred outwards from herself like a wall. In the room, the electric lights went dim. Sound distorted and a black miasma seemed to flutter around the wan figure of the girl. Charles Xavier frowned deeply, touching his fingertips together in front of him as he considered the child.

"Morose, you must try to make an effort to control your powers." His voice was stern, much sterner than he had meant it to be.

"Don't want to," spat the girl, scowling at him. The lights flickered menacingly and her black aura pulsated. Charles refused to be intimidated.

"It isn't a matter of wanting to or not, young lady. You have proven that you are a danger to yourself and to others. We are trying to help you. It is time you accepted that."

"No," said Morose.

"Don't you want to be allowed to go to school with the other children? Jamie and Omara have both been nagging me to enrol you. They are very keen to show you around classes and…"

"I hate school," Morose cut him off. "Multiple and Magma can keep their stinking classes. I'm not going."

"No, you are most certainly not," Xavier agreed. "At least not for the moment. Let's try again to find a memory from before your mutation, one where you can remember being calm and contented."

"Oh yes," the girl smirked. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she said, "I want to go to my 'happy place'!"

"That is enough!" Charles snapped, raising his voice. "Young lady your attitude is intolerable! You are fortunate to be here, many young mutants do not have this opportunity. It is about time that you showed some gratitude to us for taking you in and trying to teach you to control your powers before you do any more harm."

Charles instantly recognised that he had crossed the line. He had allowed Morose's empathic powers to impose her bleak mood upon him, and he had reacted to it in the worst possible way. As soon as he had finished his tirade, he saw Morose's pink eyes fill with salty tears. Her bottom lip was trembling. She was suddenly a shy child rather than the savage-tongued creature she had been moments before. He had been riling against the girl's mutation, not the girl herself. She was nothing but a helpless passenger trapped within her powers.

"You all hate me!" Morose wailed. Before Charles could speak, Morose had leapt out of the chair and ran for the door. He tried, but he couldn't find the words to stop her from fleeing into the corridor outside. The door slammed shut, and left Xavier alone with his troubled thoughts. What was he going to do with this girl?

Roll titles…………………….


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Two**

Morose ran blindly down the corridor, her hands covering her tearful face and a black comet's tail trailing along behind her. Rogue was coming out of a side room and hadn't seen the younger girl approaching.

"Watch it!" the older girl exclaimed, shoving Morose away with gloved hands before she could be run down. "You know if Ah touch you I'll end up soakin' up your powers an' your personality. It's bad enough havin' to live with you, Ah don't wanna feel like you too."

"Leave me alone!" Morose lashed out instinctively, flailing against Rogue and thrashing at her with a wave of blackness. Rogue staggered back under the onslaught, desperate not to be caught in the bitter black void and sent out of phase with reality as she had been before after a Morose attack. Morose herself didn't look back to see what damage she'd caused. She ploughed on regardless, not sure where she was heading.

She found herself in the kitchen with three other students, namely Kitty, Berserker and Iceman. Iceman had just reached into the refrigerator and taken the last can of soda. Berserker went to the fridge after Iceman, scanned the contents and then slammed the door loudly. Iceman took a long slurp on his can as Berserker turned on him.

"Hey Bobby, just how many sodas have you had today?"

"I dunno, why? Has this one got your name on it Ray?" Iceman made a show of examining the outside of the can. "I didn't think so." He took another slurp and Ray snapped, "Gimme that!"

"Guys, like, can you totally keep it down?" Kitty yelped. "Some of us are trying to do our homework!"

"You're such a geek, Kitty," Iceman retorted. "Why can't you study somewhere else?"

"Because its home-ec, stupid," Kitty rolled her eyes. "You'd better give that can to Ray. All that soda has, like, totally rotted what little brain you had."

Morose made a quick exit before the argument escalated. She backed down the corridor and took a route through a library and a sitting room, before sneaking into the mansion's conservatory where Storm was tending her potted plants. Morose hid in a tiny spot behind a New Zealand tree fern, pulling her legs up to her body and wrapping her arms around them. If she stayed quiet, Storm wouldn't even know she was here.

There was a gust of wind and the outside door of the conservatory flung open. Between the fronds of the fern, Morose could see a shaggy four-legged figure trot purposefully into the room. With great abandonment, the grey wolf braced herself against the smooth tiled floor and shook her drenched body from nose to tail. A staggering amount of rainwater flew from her dense coat, whilst her tail lashed out and struck a plant pot. The pot of orchids fell crashing to the floor, spilling plants and soil everywhere. The wolf sniffed disdainfully before sneezing and starting to leave. Storm however had other ideas.

"Vixen look what you've done! Those orchids are fragile! You can't just waltz through the mansion trailing mud and making the place smelling of wet dog!"

The wolf turned her massive head towards Ororo. The only outward sign of her agitation was the rapid twitching of the very tip of her tail. Ilehana Xavier, the Professor's grown-up daughter, rumbled her reply in a haughty mind-voice.

#I think you are forgetting whose mansion this is, Ororo.#

Ilehana had been careless with her reply, blasting her telepathy into the room rather than directing it to Storm's mind. Still, she had thought that they were alone and that it wouldn't matter. Consequentially, Vixen was surprised when two minds reacted to her words. Storm was struggling to bite back on her outrage, but someone else was busy trying to crawl deeper into the conservatory's potted jungle before she was caught. Just as Storm was about to make a reply, Ilehana mentally shushed her fellow instructor and indicated with a twitch of her head to a New Zealand tree fern.

Morose was on her hands and knees, trying to wiggle her way deeper into the undergrowth. She was brought to a sudden stop by the weight of a large wolf paw coming down on the trailing hem of her dress. She gave a squeak like a trapped mouse as she was hosted into the air in a set of bone-crushingly strong jaws. Ilehana tried to lift the girl gently like a mother wolf lifting her cub. Morose made it difficult by struggling against Vixen's grip on the back of her dress. The result was less than graceful as Vixen deposited the girl on the floor in front of Storm. The wolf kept a hold on Morose's dress and let Storm do the talking.

"Morose, what are you doing hiding in here? Shouldn't you be in your session with the Professor?"

"No," Morose answered, "lemme go!"

"This is your home now, child. You don't need to be skulking around like this…" Storm tried to calm her down, but Morose was not giving up struggling.

"Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!"

Vixen relented, not because she was happy with Morose's answer, but because her dress was ripping as she fought against Ilehana's hold. As soon as she was released, Morose bolted away like a greyhound. Storm shook her head as Vixen transformed from her wolf shape into a tall, lithe woman with long blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail.

"What are we going to do with that child?" Storm asked.

"I don't know that we can do anything with her," Vixen did not admit defeat casually, and her words were all the more sincere for it. "She seems to divide us wherever she goes." Ilehana paused, before adding, "I am sorry about the orchids, Storm."

"I'm sorry for shouting at you about the mud," Storm said. "I know you won't leave it like that."

"Yet you're not sorry for chastising me about the smell in here?" Vixen chuckled in reply. "I'll have you know that a wet wolf smells nothing like wet dog."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Three**

Morose left the conservatory and ran upstairs, heading for her own little room. At least the Professor had seen that making her share a bedroom with one of the other girls would have been a disaster. As she reached the landing she slowed to a walk to try and catch her breath. It was quieter up here and the thick carpet muffled her steps as she walked. A door on the right hand side of the corridor was standing half-way open. Soft indie rock 'n' roll music whispered from it. Morose could not resist a peak as she walked past.

Magneto's former henchman Gambit was reclining on his girlfriend's unmade bed. He wore dark coloured jeans and his usual t-shirt. His boots were on the floor and his socks had holes in. His fellow X-Man and former thief Blaze lay alongside him, his arm under her neck and her red curls cascading over the pillows. They were intent on each other, eyes closing as Gambit leaned over Blaze to kiss her. Morose watched in some kind of grim fascination. It was strange to her to see two people not arguing with each other.

As they kissed, Gambit's hand strayed to Blaze's hip, bare where her blue jeans and black vest top didn't meet in the middle. He brushed against her skin, only for Blaze to suddenly push out and shove him away. She sat upright in disgust, climbing off the bed as she accused him, "Why do you have to do that?"

"Do what, Cherie?" Gambit looked bewildered and not particularly happy.

"I dunno," the English girl floundered. "Make everything…cheap."

"I'm a guy, Chere," Gambit pointed out callously. "What'd you expect?"

"Manners," Blaze said, "patience, a bit of class, a sense of honour, some kind of morality…"

"I dated Rogue," griped Gambit. "I can do wit'out another girlfriend who don't wanna be touched."

"Rogue dumped you," Blaze retaliated. "Twice. Get over yourself, Remy. You're not half as charming as you think you are."

"An' you ain't as hot as you think you are," returned Gambit.

"Are you havin' a laugh?" Blaze snapped, her accent reverting to the broad northern English one of her childhood. She faced Gambit, pouting. "I am way too hot to handle! You can take your sodding…"

"Blaze," Gambit interrupted her. She fell quiet as he nodded towards the doorway behind her, "We got company."

Blaze turned on the spot, her hands on her hips as she saw Morose and scowled. In three steps Blaze had crossed the room and put a hand to the door. She glared at Morose and asked haughtily, "Do you mind?" Then the door slammed shut in Morose's face. With a sigh Blaze put her forehead against the wood and listened to Morose's retreating footsteps with her eyes closed. The further away Morose got, the less agitated Blaze felt, until at last when Gambit put a hand on her shoulder she was calm again.

"You okay?" Remy asked her gently.

"Yeah," Blaze sighed, turning and leaning her back against the door. "I'm sorry I snapped Rem. That girl…" She shook her head softly, looking away from Remy as she spoke. "I know the Professor said we had to be patient with her, and try and keep our defences up against her empathy until she learns to control it. It's just so hard to sort out what I feel when you kiss me, whilst she's stood in the doorway oozing depression."

"She ain't there anymore," Gambit pointed out slyly, a charming smile creeping over his face.

"No," Blaze giggled, tilting her head to one side and meeting his eyes from under long lashes, "She's not. Wanna try again?"

Gambit did not need a second invitation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, somewhere far away from Bayville, a woman tossed and turned in her sleep. Her bedroom was sumptuous, insulated against the night's heavy rain by thick drapes over the picture windows. Her four-poster bed boasted pillows and throws in richly coloured velvet. Though the howling wind whistled around the building's eaves, the room was cosy thanks to an open fire seated in an ornate marble hearth. Despite her luxurious surroundings, the woman's dreams were dark and hurtful and she cried out in anguish.

"Rogue!"

The woman lurched upright, woken by her own cry. Her chest heaved as she panted. Her red hair was in disarray and sweat made her blue skin clammy. Tentatively she reached out to her bedside table and flicked on a small lamp. The echoes of her nightmare receded as the little bulb did its best to shake the shadows from the room. Raven Darkholme, also known as Mystique, groaned softly to herself as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Raven?" another voice asked from the doorway. Destiny, Mystique's precognitive friend, was stood there with her cane in hand. Her blind eyes stared off into the distance, her usual dark glasses forgotten. "Are you awake?"

"What is it Destiny?" Mystique asked grouchily.

"I've had a vision," the precog replied.

"Well then you'd better come in," Mystique said, climbing from her bed. In moments the shape-shifter had shrugged on a satin robe over her nightdress. She tied the belt hastily before crossing the room to the fireplace. She threw in another log whilst Destiny took a seat in a fireside armchair.

"It's about the X-Men," Destiny explained. "Something terrible is about to happen in Bayville. You must warn them before it's too late." Mystique scowled as she straightened up. The fire crackled merrily as it chewed on the new log, and a fresh wave of warmth floated through the room. The smell of wood smoke almost disguised the stench of sweat from Mystique's nightmare.

"Destiny," Mystique growled, "what makes you think I would want to warn the X-Men about anything?"

"Oh, I don't know," pondered Destiny. "Perhaps the fact that you called out your daughter's name in your sleep just now?" She crossed her legs, placing her cane across her lap. "Raven please, both Rogue and Kurt were in my vision. You are the only one that can warn them about what is to come."

"Even if," countered Mystique, "I want to warn them, I couldn't get within five hundred metres of that mansion without…"

"Being impaled on a set of adamantium claws," interrupted Destiny. "I know that Raven. Believe me I would not ask this of you if I didn't think it was a matter of life and death."

"Rogue and Kurt's lives are in danger?" Mystique asked, her voice catching on the back of her throat. She may not have been the best mother to either of them, but Destiny's words still gravely concerned her. Whatever happened between her and the X-Men, she would always be deeply connected to Nightcrawler and Rogue.

"Yes," hissed Destiny urgently. "You must find a way to contact them. If you don't think that they will listen to you, or even give you the opportunity to speak, then find someone to go in your stead. They have to be warned!"

"Find a messenger?" Mystique pondered. "Hmm I think I can come up with a likely candidate. Those adamantium claws you mentioned have given me an idea…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating sooner, I've been on my honeymoon in South Africa. Had an amazing time, but I'm back home and at work now, so I should be posting regularily to the end of this fic.

**Scene Four**

The rain was a blessing, for it kept the security guards inside for the majority of their shifts. Even when they did make a circuit of the building and its perimeter, they did it with their heads down and collars turned up against the weather. Water ran in rivulets from their peaked caps and made the guns at their waists glisten like polished mahogany. Then they were gone again, back inside to their card games, baseball on the TV and steaming mugs of coffee. After all it would take a pretty committed thief or saboteur to be out there trying to break in to the facility on a night like this.

X-23 was very committed. She had been staking out this location for three days. She knew no other way to be, trained since birth to be the ultimate weapon. Cloned from a damaged DNA sample from Weapon X, she was thirteen years old and as lethal as her genetic twin. The Y chromosome from the DNA sample retrieved from Wolverine had been irreparably damaged. The scientists that made her had instead duplicated the X chromosome. This made X-23 differ from Logan, most noticeably because she was female. Also, she bore two adamatium claws on her hands, and one on each foot.

She had been trained to be an assassin since she could walk. She'd killed people, for a price, the world over. Then one fateful night she had rebelled against her creators. She hadn't stopped since then, fighting against signs of them wherever she found them. They had stolen her childhood and tried to take her humanity away from her. In too many ways they had succeeded and she hated them because of it. That was why she was out in the wind and the rain tonight, skulking behind a tall steel chain-link fence like a wildcat behind bars.

Dressed in black boots, trousers and jacket, the water made her hair hang in long rats-tails. X-23 waited at a point not covered by any CCTV cameras for the wind-swept security guard to make his hasty round. No sooner had he disappeared from sight than X-23 seized her opportunity. She took a running leap and scrambled up the chain link fence. There was razor wire at the top and it bit deeply into her hands as she grabbed it and pulled herself over. She didn't so much as flinch as it cut her, and was swiftly dropping to land in a cat-like crouch on the far side of the fence. A glance at her mangled hands told her all she needed to know. She would heal in moments and the rain would wash away the traces of blood on the fence. There would be no evidence she had passed this way.

Taking a zig-zag pattern like a gazelle trying to outrun a cheetah, she made her way to the outside wall of the main compound building. She froze, pinning her back against the wall as a search light from a tower by the main gate made a quick sweep of the area. Knowing that the tower had not spotted her or alarms would be sounding out, she waited until the light passed her by before moving on. There was a rooftop above some garbage cans, and above that a small window that was open to the night air. This was all too easy. It was almost as though someone had laid this path out for her.

No sooner had X-23 slipped gracefully through the small window than she realised her mistake. Someone _had_ left this route open to her, it was a trap!

"Bravo," a predatory female voice told X-23 from the shadows. "You're ahead of schedule, I wasn't expecting you for another thirty minutes."

"Who are you," X-23 demanded, "and what do you want?"

"I have a message, I need you to deliver it for me."

"What kind of message?" X-23 asked, fearing the answer might be a violent one.

"Only information," the woman replied, "nothing like what you are thinking."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" X-23 argued, but the woman refused to rise to the bait.

"I need you to go to Bayville and pay a visit to Wolverine. Something bad is about to happen and I need you to warn him."

"Wolverine can handle himself," X-23 replied with some pride. "I have my own mission."

"I know you came here seeking information," the woman responded. "I was the one who planted the rumour that brought you here. This place is nothing, just a paper factory. It provides a place to meet, one that you wouldn't question. The information you are seeking is in my possession."

"So I deliver your message to Wolverine, and you will give me the information?"

"Clever girl," the woman replied.

"Then the information should be worth what you are asking me to do. I want to know what it relates to."

There was a pause whilst the woman considered the offer. X-23 took the opportunity to assess the woman in return. Now she had been in the dark room for a while, her eyes had adjusted and she could make out the figure. She was tall, that much was obvious even though she was sat in a leather-backed office chair. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a sleek ponytail, and her brown eyes had a predatory seriousness about them. Like X-23, she favoured black clothes. Strangest of all, this woman had very little discernable scent. Even X-23's enhanced senses were strained to pick out the aroma of this woman in the still air.

"Very well," the woman replied. "There is a financier and media tycoon with a strong interest in all things mutant. He has heard about the Weapon X program, and about you, and he is looking to resurrect the research. If you deliver my message to Wolverine, then I will tell you how to find his research centre and access it. You can put a stop to his plans before they even get off the ground."

X-23 met the woman's gaze squarely. The deal seemed fair, so X-23 asked her, "What is the message?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Five**

After another two days of Morose stomping about the mansion like a petulant three-year-old, causing arguments wherever she went, Professor Xavier finally called a much-needed council of war. His teaching staff congregated in the library late that night after most of the X-Kids had been sent to bed. The room was opulent yet cosy with velvet drapes and thick, springy carpet in shades of crimson and burgundy. Tall bookcases covered every wall, stacked with books and journals. Rain drizzled down the glass of the large picture window in which the faces of the gathered X-Men were reflected. The room was lit only by small amber desk lamps, and smelt vaguely bookish.

Professor Xavier commanded the centre of the room from his wheelchair. Storm sat opposite him, composed on a regal-looking two-seater sofa. Hank did not look composed, perched uncomfortably in a seat too small for his colossal blue-furred frame. Ilehana Xavier had taken her favourite seat, a high-backed, leather-covered armchair that was tucked away in the shadows by the window. She had her back to the wall and commanded a view of the whole room, yet someone coming into the room would not automatically be able to see her. She crossed her long legs and folded her slender hands in her lap, waiting for her father to begin.

Logan was the last to arrive, he grouched through the door ten minutes after the others. Scanning the room, he leant against the doorframe.

"Where are Gambit and Blaze?" asked Beast innocently. Logan pulled his face.

"Canoodling in Blaze's room as usual. Shall I go get 'em?"

"Leave them be," said Ilehana, who had a soft spot for the two thieves.

"Why?" groused Logan.

"Because they are happy," replied the younger Xavier, "and that's a rare enough event around here at the moment. Besides, who knows that the future holds for those two? Apart from Morose everything is quiet in Bayville at the moment. Do you really believe this calm will last forever?"

It was a long speech for the usually taciturn woman, one that sent a chill up the spines of everyone present. Did Ilehana, only recently returned to them from a freak coma, know something they didn't?

Charles Xavier cleared his throat to bring the meeting to order, and Ilehana his daughter slipped back into the shadowy folds of her chair to watch.

"As you know," began Charles, "I have called you here together to ask for your advice. Despite all of our best efforts Morose is showing no improvement in being able to control her powers. She does not trust us, that much is very evident. Meanwhile the bad feelings she emits are threatening to swamp the Institute. I must admit, I am genuinely concerned how the X-Men can continue to function with Morose nearby.

"At the same time," he continued, "I am unwilling to give up on the child. In the wrong hands she could easily be turned into a weapon against us. So the question remains, what do we do with her?"

After a moment's consideration, Ororo was the first to speak her mind.

"We can't give up on her Charles, it goes against everything we claim to stand for. Given time, perhaps she will let down her guard and then…"

"Her guard is the only thing keepin' that power o' hers even slightly in check," Logan pointed out.

"Logan is right," agreed Hank. "We don't know that helping the child will make her easier to live with. It may result in things getting much worse."

"Dad," Ilehana addressed her fellow telepath, "you're holding something back."

"Indeed," Charles admitted. "There is another option, but it is not to be entered into lightly. I could use my telepathic powers to go into Morose's mind and disengage the more destructive aspects of her powers."

"I can't see 'Rose going for that Chuck," said Logan.

"No I would not expect her to," Charles confirmed. "She would not understand. However it may be the only way. We know from past attempts to end her life Morose is as much a danger to herself as she is to us."

"It would change her," Ilehana put in a cautionary note. "To take away part of someone's consciousness and lock it up for all eternity. She would be altered by it for better or for worse."

"Still she would be safe," said Storm hopefully. "She could start to go to school, have friends, to be a normal child?"

"I don't know the answer, Ororo," the Professor replied. "My concerns are for the welfare of all the children here, including Morose. However…"

The Professor fell abruptly silent as Logan raised his hand. The feral man's eyebrows knitted together in consternation as he took a deep sniff of the air. Xavier pursed his lips and pressed the fingertips of his opposite hands together. Meeting Logan's gaze, the Professor gave a small nod.

"We know you're there kid," Logan grouched at the closed room door. "You might as well come on in…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Six**

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the door slowly opened, spilling light like blood across the carpet. X-23 glanced quickly around the room, observing the questioning expressions on the faces of Beast, Storm and the Professor. Logan just frowned at his young clone. Obligingly X-23 frowned back.

"What do you want?" Wolverine asked.

"I have a message for you," X-23 spoke plainly. She tucked her long dark hair back behind an ear with one hand. The other hand she rested on her hip, elbow jutting outwards. Logan could sense every muscle in X-23's scrawny body was tensed, ready to fight. As usual when faced with his young clone, he felt a wave of disgust for the people who created her and an overwhelming need to protect her. She was, after all, only a child. Knowing she would never let him do any such thing, Logan treated her as brusquely as he did everyone else.

"What message?"

"Can I speak to you alone?"

"No," Wolverine said. "What message?"

"I…" a moment's hesitation as X-23 considered her options. The woman who had given her the message had said it was for Wolverine's ears only. However if Logan refused to grant her a private audience, what choice did she have? X-23 needed the information the woman had promised and she knew that Wolverine trusted the other X-Men implicitly. She scowled to herself. She had no choice but to trust them too.

"There is a pupil here at the Institute who is not what she seems. You think that she has all these powers, but she doesn't. She's just a puddle-jumper, a dimension-hopper like Nightcrawler. All these extra powers she has are from something else, something bad inside of her that latched on like a parasite when she opened a dimension breach.

"You're trying to help her, but it's not working. Whatever you're doing you have to stop, because it's making the girl weak. If she weakens much more then the parasite will break loose and cross into our dimension. If that happens then some of the X-Men will die."

A stunned silence greeted the end of X-23's little speech. Message delivered, X-23 spun on her heel and made to leave. Logan reached out and grabbed her arm. X-23 turned on him, snarling as two claws extended from the backs of each of her hands. Logan just twisted her arm a little until she was facing back into the room. Xavier rolled over to the girl and spoke to her gently but firmly.

"I understand that you wished to speak to Logan privately and I appreciate you trusting us, X-23. Please appreciate that your message has given rise to more questions than answers. We would like to know who gave you the message, and why?"

X-23 looked past the Professor to Storm and Beast. A figure that she had not seen before stood up, leaving a chair in a darkened corner of the room. The woman's long blonde hair was tied back into a functional ponytail and tight black clothing covered a lean, muscled form. Stern brown eyes examined X-23 like a wolf stalking its prey. X-23 visibly baulked, baring her teeth. The Professor and Logan glanced at each other and then looked at Ilehana.

"It was her," X-23 insisted. "She gave me the message…"

"What," growled Logan, "when, how?"

"I have never met X-23 before," Ilehana said coolly. "She must be mistaken."

"I am not!" X-23 snapped, flicking her hair back indignantly. "I know what I saw."

"Really," Ilehana took three strides forward and held out her open palm. "You are Logan's clone, correct? You should have his heightened sense of smell. Did the person who gave you the message smell like me?"

Hesitantly X-23 did as she was instructed. She sniffed the air around Ilehana's outstretched hand. Ilehana had a distinctive perfume to X-23's sensitive nose. The top note was of engine oil and diesel, the rich tones of a woman who knew her way around a garage. The heart note was rich and warm, the fragrance of black coffee. The low note was brutally animal, a musk not dissimilar to dog only cleaner and wilder. X-23 catalogued the smell, referencing it against the scents she had come across before and realised she did not recognise it.

"And?" Logan was impatient, coming to stand behind Ilehana. To X-23's disapproval he put his hand on Ilehana's shoulder. He was claiming her, marking the blonde woman as his territory.

"No, I haven't smelt her scent before." X-23 admitted.

"Shape-shifter," Ilehana supplied, turning away and walking to her father's side. "Someone wants to use me to get their message across. Someone who thinks I am still missing."

X-23 looked bewildered, so the Professor explained. "My daughter Ilehana is only recently returned to us. We had thought we had lost her forever. Whoever took her shape likely knew the impact it would have upon us here."

"Mystique," hypothesised Logan.

"Quite possibly," the Professor agreed. "X-23, will you help Wolverine and Vixen track down the shape-shifter and find out why she or he wished to deceive us?"

"Of course," X-23 replied fiercely. "I have a few questions of my own to ask."

"That'd a girl," Logan growled, "Ilehana?"

"Lead the way," the Vixen replied to her lover and his juvenile clone. "We will take the X-Jet."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Seven**

The next day was Sunday and the weather worsened as the week drew to a close. With the mansion's early risers Logan and Vixen away with X-23, the majority of the rest of the occupants lingered in bed. With the rain pelting the windows and the wind howling, more than one of the X-Men pulled the covers over their heads and went back to sleep. Even Storm was putting off the moment she made an appearance. She was hiding in her room with a cup of herbal tea and a good book, almost embarrassed to show her face with the weather so terrible.

Blaze and Gambit were making out in the centre of the kitchen, barely remembering to come up for air. She had her arms around his neck and was stood on one leg, her other foot kicked out behind her. He embraced her around her tiny waist, enjoying the warmth of her body against his. They were completely oblivious of the world in general, up until Gambit broke the kiss to speak.

"Is somet'ing burnin'?" Disentangling himself from Blaze he moved away across the room.

"I don't think it's me…" Blaze sounded confused, patting herself down just to make sure. It wasn't her. The toast they had been toasting was now on fire and thick smelly smoke was filling the room. Blaze shrugged and went to open a window before the mansion's smoke alarms went off.

"Why," asked Remy, "do toasters always have a settin' dat burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human bein' would eat?" He fished the slices of blackened bread out from the toaster and tossed them onto the worktop.

"Umm," said Blaze in her best Homer Simpson impression, "charcoal-y." She promptly confiscated the two slices of toast and danced away to smother them in something sweet and sickly from a jar.

"You're disgusting," Remy chastised her as he reloaded the toaster.

"Yup," Blaze agreed with a flirty smile, "and you know you like it." Gambit laughed, shaking his head as he turned away to pour the coffee. Just at that moment a shade passed the open doorway. Gambit saw the shape move in the corner of his eye and turned to look, coffee pot in hand. "'Rose?" Remy asked aloud but the shape was gone.

"You alright?" Blaze asked, looking from Gambit to the empty doorway and back.

"Jus' seein' t'ings," Remy replied with a shrug, going back to the coffee.

"Fair enough," Blaze risked another glance at the door. She should not have done it. Morose was stood there in her little drab dress, her expression vacant. Over and around her, enveloping her completely was a translucent monster. The monster shimmered in and out of existence, flashing crimson and amber. It had two legs like those of a T-rex, whilst its body was bulbous and had no proper head or neck. One great yellow eye peered at Blaze, petrifying her. A great slit of a mouth opened below the eye. For a moment Blaze could see the corridor behind the creature through its gaping maw. Then a host of slimy tentacles emerged, groping after the redhead hungrily.

Everything electrical in the room stuttered and went out. The kitchen was plunged into darkness. Gambit turned around to see Blaze cowering before the monster. It had eye contact with her; she seemed unable to break the stare. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor, raising her hands to fend off the tentacles as they grasped after her. As one, the monster and Morose took a step forward over the threshold.

Gambit didn't even think about it. He pulled back his arm and threw the coffee pot straight at the monster. Hot black coffee splashed everywhere. The pot itself hit the monster's flank. It met some resistance, like the membrane of a balloon, before the balloon popped and the coffee pot fell through the monster to hit the floor. With a bellow and dripping coffee the creature turned. Morose turned with it and they disappeared back into the hall. At once the lights came back on and the toaster spat out Gambit's toast.

"Blaze," Gambit knelt in front of her. She was white and shaking. He took the butter knife out of her hand and laid it on the floor. She didn't seem to be able to see him until he touched her cheek. "What happened Chere?"

"It…" Blaze stuttered, her pupils dilated and mouth dry. "It was like a blast from Morose, only much worse. Even worse then when we first found her. It showed me things, horrible things."

"Like what?" Gambit pressed her gently. Blaze shook her head mutely and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Like you leaving me for some stick-insect blonde in cheap cowboy boots," she murmured. Gambit gave her a squeeze and told her he wasn't going anywhere. Lifting her chin he kissed her mouth gently. At that moment Rogue walked in, followed nanoseconds later by Kurt who bamfed straight to the refrigerator.

"Ugh," protested Rogue. "Can't ya'll get a room?" Gambit glared at his ex.

"'Rose attacked Blaze. Kurt, go get de Professor."

"Oh, okay," said Kurt, who then bamfed out again. Gambit got to his feet, and between him and Rogue they managed to stand Blaze up. Suddenly there was a scream down the hall. Rogue and Gambit looked at each other, and then ran for the door with Remy dragging Blaze along by the hand.

The scream had come from Jubilee, who had discovered Iceman collapsed on the floor of the rec. room. Rogue went straight to Bobby, who was staring vacantly up at the ceiling. She tried to get a response from him but there was nothing. If she lifted his hand it fell straight back to the floor. Other than that Bobby was fine, he was breathing and there wasn't a mark on him. There was also no sign of Morose.

Bamf! Kurt reappeared with the Professor. It took Xavier less than a second to take charge, "Did anyone see what happened?" As one, the gathered X-Men shook their heads. Beast and Storm arrived, and Storm carefully lifted Bobby into her arms. She brought him to Xavier, who touched his fingertips to the boy's head briefly.

"I'm afraid I cannot sense him," Xavier confided. "Ororo, please take him to the infirmary and make him as comfortable as possible."

"Of course," Ororo replied and left.

"Blaze," Xavier beckoned to the distressed girl. She took his hand cautiously, and then sighed as Xavier used his powers to heal her hurts.

"Thank you," she told him with genuine warmth.

"It Morose," Gambit said hurriedly, leaping to conclusions. "She attacked Blaze. She must've attacked Bobby too."

"When Blaze was attacked," Charles asked, "what did you see?"

"Morose," Remy emphasised and then hesitated, "only not jus' her. There was somet'ing else standin' over her. Some kinda monster. You could see t'rough it an' it moved when she moved so I t'ought…"

"That it was a manifestation of Morose's powers," Xavier finished. "I do not believe so. Intelligence we received last night points to this being some kind of cross-dimensional traveller, similar to the ones Kurt inadvertently brought to Bayville during Forge's experiments. This one may have been responsible for some of Morose's empathic abilities all along, living off her like a parasite until it grew strong enough to cross over. I fear for all of us if it crosses over fully, not least young Morose.

"Beast," the Professor continued. "Morose is no longer in the mansion. Take Gambit, Rogue, Blaze and Nightcrawler and head out into Bayville. I will go to Cerebro and help you to track her down. We find Morose, we find the creature."

"Then," said Kurt, "all we have to do is send it back where it came from. How hard can it be?"

A/N: As will become clear later, the 'creature' is one I have borrowed from one of the original 1990s Fox Kids X-Men cartoons, just in case anyone recognises it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Eight**

Meanwhile Logan, Vixen and X-23 had landed far enough away from the paper factory so that the X-Jet would not be discovered. They had walked to the perimeter of the complex and taken up station amongst some trees. X-23 wasn't certain, but from the way Logan and Vixen were acting she suspected that they were having a telepathic conversation and leaving her out. After the next round of facial twitches and eye contact without words, X-23 decided enough was enough.

"I know what you're doing," she told them. "Stop talking telepathically, or else I might as well not be here."

"Sorry kid," Logan replied. "It's nothin' personal, force o' habit."

"We were just discussing that if this is Mystique, then I will not be able to sense her telepathically and none of us will be able to smell her," Vixen's stern eyes were fixed on the complex beyond the fence. A truck was being unloaded by a forklift about five hundred metres away. The forklift had a flashing orange beacon on it, and it beeped as it reversed through the puddles in the yard. Other than the unloading, there was no activity in the vicinity. Security was less stringent during the daylight hours, even if the rain meant that it was not much brighter out-of-doors.

"Why is that?" X-23 said.

"She had somethin' done to her," Logan replied, "to enhance her mutation. If it is Mystique we need to be careful."

"Let's split up," Vixen decided. "Circle the compound and see if we can find anything."

The three hunters separated, heading off in different directions. Vixen morphed into a bald eagle and took to the air. She flapped her massive wings two or three times, then finding a suitable thermal she adjusted her feathers and allowed the air current to carry her higher. Her raptor eyesight allowed her to pinpoint Logan, who was moving east using the undergrowth for cover. To the west moved X-23, darting along the fence furtively. From above, the compound was a maze of buildings and passageways, pedestrian and vehicle routes. Vixen did not know exactly what she was looking for, but X-23 did.

X-23 froze, standing tight to a tree trunk so she could not be seen by the CCTV inside the compound. Her eyes were glued to a point inside the fence, the same point by which she had entered the building on her previous visit. Far above, Vixen noticed that X-23 had stopped moving and reached out to touch minds with Wolverine's juvenile clone.

#Have you found something?#

X-23 jolted slightly, but she recovered quickly from the unannounced telepathic contact. #Yes,# she answered.

#What is it?# Logan this time, Vixen was joining all three of their minds to make communication easier.

#The window just opened. The same one I went in last time.# X-23 took a quick look around and decided the coast was clear. #I'm going in.#

#Kid, wait!# Logan growled, but X-23 was already gone. She hit the fence at a run and was over it in a heartbeat. #Damn it,# Logan groused, turning to run back to her aid.

#Solitary, stubborn and brave,# Vixen commented just to Wolverine. #I can't think who that reminds me of…#

#Funny,# Logan replied, but he wasn't laughing. His claws ripped through his knuckles and he cut his way through the fence with a single swipe. Vixen swooped down close to his head, ruffling his hair. She was already morphing as she passed through the open window, hot on the heels of X-23. A slender black-footed ferret emerged where there had been an eagle. The ferret caught the window ledge and scurried down a succession of office furniture to floor level. Logan, finding he was too big to fit through the window, was diverting to find a door.

"Anyone here?" X-23 asked, stepping over the inquisitive ferret. Vixen-as-ferret made a beeline for cover as a desk lamp was switched on across the room. X-23 froze, faced with a carbon copy of Ilehana so perfect for a moment she thought Vixen had morphed back into her human form.

#Definitely not me,# the ferret told her, two button-bright eyes blinking at the stranger from under a bookshelf. #Can you smell it?#

#I can't smell anything,# X-23 replied.

#Exactly,# Vixen said. X-23 took the hint.

"I passed on your message," X-23 told Mystique. "Now I want the information you promised."

"Are the X-Men acting on the intelligence?" Mystique-as-Vixen replied coolly.

"You could say that," X-23 said.

"What does that mean?" Mystique asked.

"It means they know you are not who you pretend to be," answered X-23. "You are not Ilehana Xavier."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I am right here," Ilehana told Mystique, morphing back into her human form just behind X-23's shoulder. "Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I'd rather you dropped my form right now Mystique."

Mystique scowled, but she did as she was told. "I didn't know you were back," Kurt and Rogue's mother informed Vixen. Ilehana didn't bother to tell the other woman that so much was obvious. Mystique continued to speak, asking, "Have you stopped it?"

"Stopped what?"

"The dimension-hopper! The empathic creature that has latched onto one of your students!"

"You can't expect us to act on information from you Mystique, we know you too well and your motives rarely align with ours."

"Fools!" Mystique spat, "You're running out of time, the intelligence is sound. Destiny saw the beast running amok in Bayville. It will kill…" Mystique stopped herself just in time, or she thought she had.

"Kill who Raven?" Vixen asked more gently. "Kurt? Rogue? Is that why you wanted to warn us?"

"I…"

"You should have come to us directly," Ilehana told her, "not tried to divert attention from yourself."

"You would not have listened!" Mystique turned away in disgust. "You must go, now. Time it running out. When the rain stops, that's when it is all over."

"Come with us," Vixen offered.

"No," Mystique was adamant. Turning back to X-23, she offered the girl a manila folder containing several sheets of white paper. "Here is the information I promised. Now go," she glanced at Logan who at that moment arrived at the door. "All of you. Save them." Mystique turned herself into a raven and flew out of the open window. Vixen and Logan turned to watch her go, a look of consternation shared between them. X-23 was already flicking through the photographs and schematics contained within the folder.

"That offer is open to you too, X-23," Vixen told the young clone. "Come with us. Wolverine and I would like you to join the X-Men."

"What?" X-23 looked up at the blonde and her partner, a frown on her face. "No, I can't. I have to find out what this is all about," she shook the folder slightly to prove her point. "I have my own battles to fight."

Vixen nodded and followed Logan from the room. Wolverine waited until they were out of X-23's accentuated hearing range before turning to his partner and saying, "I told you so."

"She'll join us eventually," Vixen said confidently, "you wait and see."

"Is that X-23," Logan asked, "or Mystique?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Nine**

#We are on our way back,# Vixen told her father. #Mystique was behind the intel, it came from the precog Destiny.#

#Hurry,# Xavier Senior replied from Cerebro. #The cross-dimension empath has already started to break free. It has attacked Blaze and Iceman, before Morose and the creature left the mansion.#

#Are they alright?# Ilehana asked urgently.

#Blaze will be, she is with Hank and a team tracking the creature. Bobby is not so fortunate.#

#We will be there as soon as we can,# Vixen said. Charles acknowledged his daughter before turning his attention back to tracking Morose. The creature was impossible for him to track, sitting as it did between two dimensions. Morose was also invisible, as if she sat in a shadow created by the monster. But the chaos the two were causing in Bayville was all too easy to follow.

#You need to get into the sewers,# Xavier instructed Beast, #the Morlocks are in trouble.#

#On our way Professor,# Hank confirmed.

"Where we headin' Beast?" Gambit wanted to know.

"Into the Morlock sewers," Hank confirmed, sparking looks of disgust from the girls. They were in the X-Van with Gambit driving. Blaze sat next to him in the front whilst Rogue, Hank and Kurt in the back. "Take a left here." Gambit did as he was told and pulled up in a rain-soaked alley. As he stopped and applied the parking break, Beast flung open the side door and stepped down. The rest of the team followed.

"Looks like it's brightenin' up," Rogue commented hopefully, looking up at the overcast sky.

"That's your imagination," Kurt told her with a grin.

"Need a hand Homme?" Gambit offered, but Beast shook his head. Singlehandedly Hank lifted a drain cover from the sewer entrance, exposing a ladder down into the darkness.

"Are you sure we have to go down there?" Blaze asked, looking green.

"I'm sure," Hank replied, holding out his hand so the girls could use it to help themselves down into the sewers. Gambit and Kurt followed, trying to look cool and nonplussed by the smell as they splashed down at the bottom of the ladder. Hank came last, manoeuvring the man-hole cover back into place and sealing them in.

"Umm," said Blaze in the darkness, "methane is explosive. Anyone mind if I keep my powers to myself?"

"Not at all Cherie," Gambit replied. He took a card from his pocket and used his powers to light the way. The sewer tunnels arched over them, and a slender walkway meandered away into the distance. A step off the walkway was a two-metre drop into water filled with who knew what. Not surprisingly the X-Men made their way single file along the walkway in the direction of the Morlock lair.

"How come," asked Kurt as they walked, "Gambit's powers are not igniting the methane and blowing us all to pieces?"

"Ah guess the gas ain't as bonded as the molecules in a solid," Rogue said, "there's nothin' to break apart to release the kinetic energy."

"Swot," muttered Blaze, watching where she was putting her feet carefully, with her palm against Gambit's back so she didn't walk into him.

"Hey I wanna actually finish school, not flunk out like some people Ah know."

"I was expelled, I didn't flunk out," Blaze replied. "How about you Rem?"

"Stopped goin' when I discovered girls an' booze," Gambit replied flippantly. "Is she right Beast?"

"Most likely," Hank replied from the back of the group. "I'm glad to see you have taken an interest in chemistry Rogue."

"Yeah well I…" Rogue started, but Gambit interrupted her, "What's dat?" Taking charge, Hank reached up and grabbed a pipe that ran over the top of the walkway. He shimmied along the pipe over the heads of the team, dropping down in front of Remy. Gambit pointed to something just further down the tunnel, raising the charged card he held in his hand to illuminate whatever it was.

"The Morlocks!" Kurt had bamfed past Beast to take a closer look. Three Morlocks were lying in a heap alongside the walkway. They were staring and unresponsive, just as Iceman had been.

"The trail gettin' warmer, non?" Gambit joked, and received a withering look from Rogue in response as she shouldered past him.

"Toasty," agreed Blaze, linking her arm through Gambit's and staring wide-eyed at the fallen Morlocks.

"We must press onwards," Hank decided. "We can do nothing for these poor creatures at the moment."

The Morlocks were blocking the path, so whilst Hank used the pipes to cross above them, Kurt took Rogue and Blaze by the hand and bamfed them to the other side. Gambit took his pole from his pocket, extended it and used it to vault across. The tunnel turned right, then sharp left, and then it seemed to wind back on itself. Before they had travelled very far, there was a shout ahead.

"Who's there?" Hank called out, breaking into a lope using all four limbs. The other X-Men ran along behind him. What they saw was the Morlock leader Callisto pinned against the tunnel wall by Morose and the monster that possessed her. The dimension empath had eye contact with Callisto and its mouth was open. Tentacles groped towards the trapped and powerless mutant, touching her. There was a momentary flash, then Callisto slumped unconscious to the floor. Rogue cried out in disgust, and the monster turned to look at the X-Men. On its forehead, above its single massive eye, Callisto's face swirled into existence. Her mouth was open in a silent scream before she disappeared. Conversely, the monster seemed to grow a little bit more solid. It was now almost impossible to see through it.

Seeing the monster start to take a step towards them, Gambit reacted quickly and threw the card he had in his hand. The card streaked like a comet's tail through the tunnel, hitting the ceiling above the monster's head. The explosion made the ground shake and caused a collapse that sealed the tunnel between the monster and the X-Men. The X-Men covered their heads with their arms to protect themselves until silence fell. Gambit took out another card and illuminated the darkness to admire his handiwork.

"Nice job," Kurt told the Cajun.

"Yeah but now what?" Rogue wanted to know, "d'you think we got it?"

#None of the individuals so far rendered incapacitated by the monster have woken up,# Xavier had been monitoring the situation in Cerebro. #I do not believe this is over. However during the attack on Callisto I was able to draw a conclusion about what the creature is exactly. I believe it is gaining nourishment from the life-force from its victims; a Spirit-Drinker if you will.#

"Great," said Rogue, "now it's got a name, but we don't know how to stop it and each time it attacks someone it gets stronger. Like Ah said, now what?"

"We persevere," Hank told her. "We need to find a way past the blocked tunnel. Kurt, can you 'port us through?"

"I don't know how thick the landslide is," Kurt pointed out. "I could 'port us straight into the middle of it."

"There was a tunnel off to the right a little while ago," Blaze remembered. "If we take that, it might join up with this one further on."

"We'll try that," Hank decided, "Professor, if you can find the schematics for the tunnels and telepathically share them with us that would be of great assistance."

#Of course,# Xavier replied, already working on Cerebro to find the necessary plans. It took them a while, but eventually they had circumnavigated the sewers to arrive back at the other side of the landslide. There was no sign of the Spirit-Drinker so they continued at a run, hoping to catch up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Ten**

What they found next, none of the X-Men expected. Through everything so far Morose had been attached like a puppet to its master, _inside_ the translucent body of the Spirit-Drinker. When the X-Men found Spyke flaked out like the other Morlocks, by his side was the unconscious body of Morose. Gambit, Blaze and Kurt ran on to see if they could find the Spirit-Drinker. Hank knelt down by Spyke and checked Ororo's nephew's pulse, which was strong. Rogue crouched down and brushed the white hair back from Morose's forehead, revealing her two stubby goat-like horns. Like all the other victims, her eyes were open but unresponsive. Beast left Spyke and came to join Rogue.

"Poor li'l mite," Rogue said, feeling quite sorry for the wan figure that lay before her. "None o' this is her fault, is it? An' we all been so mean to her…"

"It seems the Spirit-Drinker is strong enough to cross over into our dimension completely," Hank observed. "I'm loathe to leave Morose here whilst we pursue it…"

"Beast!" Kurt called, arriving back with Blaze in a poof of grey smoke. "Spyke must've fought with the Spirit-Drinker back there. There is a new hole in the wall of the sewer leading onto the subway tracks. Gambit is checking it out now."

"Oh no," said Rogue. "If this thing gets top-side we're all in trouble."

Beast was caught in a quandary. He could lead the team through into the warren of Bayville's subway. However if the Spirit-Drinker headed to the surface, his bestial appearance would not help matters as they attempted to track it. Neither did he want to leave little Morose. Blaze recognised Beast's predicament and had an answer.

"You take Morose, Hank, and head back to the X-Van. Get her back to the mansion where she'll be safe. We'll track the Spirit-Drinker and try and stop it coming into contact with the public."

"You've all come a long way," Hank replied carefully, "since you joined us. I'm just not sure that you are ready to take on a mission of this magnitude."

#Vixen and Wolverine are on their way,# Xavier told them. #They will rendezvous with the team as soon as they reach Bayville. Beast, I need to see Morose. If any psychic link exists between her and the Spirit-Drinker it may be enough for me to end this.#

"Alright," Beast agreed reluctantly, "but you must be careful, all of you."

"We will be," Blaze promised. Beast scooped Morose up into his arms and headed back the way he had come. Rogue stood, brushing down her uniform before turning to address Blaze sternly.

"Don't think that this makes you in charge Firefly, Ah been an X-Man way longer than you."

"And I have been an X-Man longer than you Rogue," chirruped Nightcrawler, "which makes me in charge. Come on, we need to catch up with Gambit before something really goes wrong." He grabbed the girls' wrists and bamfed them away.

"Where's Beast?" asked Gambit, nonplussed as the other three X-Men appeared at his side. He was crouched down over the subway tracks, his staff in one hand whilst he rubbed grit between his fingers of his other hand.

"Taken Morose back to the Professor," Blaze told her boyfriend. "Who d'you think you are, Aragorn? You don't know how to track."

"You don't know what I don't know," Remy replied cryptically. "It went dat way 'bout five minutes ago. C'mon team, we catchin' up…" and he set off at a sprint down the tunnel.

"You're not in charge either," cried Kurt, as he and the girls ran after Remy.

"'Course I'm in charge," Gambit replied over his shoulder, "I'm the oldest!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Michael Hawley was waiting on the subway platform at Eighth Street, heading out of town. He'd spent most of his Sunday visiting his mother in her nursing home. The poor mad old lady had been better than usual, even if she had thought he was his father for a good portion of the visit. Michael had been intending to spend the evening catching up with his teenage daughter Samantha, back for the weekend from the exclusive boarding school Roehampton. But Sammy had just sent a text message to his cell phone saying she was out with friends for the night, again. Added to that, the train was running late. What a way to end the weekend!

Caught up in his own thoughts, Michael Hawley didn't notice when the majority of his fellow passengers passed him by, rushing out of the station. A professional commuter, he blindly stepped forward to fill the space vacated by the person in front of him. Closer to the train doors when it stopped was an increased chance of a seat. Only when someone nearby screamed did Michael look around, realising something was wrong.

A single great eye peered at him over the edge of the platform, staring him down. Michael found he was unable to move, transfixed as everyone else around him made their escapes. The Spirit-Drinker placed one foot on the platform and rose up, stepping towards the transfixed man. Its clawed feet scratched the floor, leaving deep gauges. It opened its mouth as Michael cowered before it. Horrible visions filled his mind, of his mother's inevitable decline and death, of his precious Sammy developing one of those hideous mutations, of his career going up in flames. The Spirit-Drinker sensed its moment and trapped Michael Hawley in its tentacles. He was out in a flash, his spirit sucked into the creature. Briefly his face flashed above the monster's eye before he disappeared like all the victims before him. The Spirit-Drinker barely flinched, moving swiftly on to its next victim.

The X-Men arrived in a flurry of playing cards and a flash of flames. The Spirit-Drinker turned on them with a snarl. Gambit held up a fist, instructing the team to hold their ground. If they could draw the monster back into the sewers no one else would need to get hurt. The Spirit-Drinker had other ideas and instead of engaging them it turned away. Kurt, image-inducer switched on now, bamfed around the creature to try to cut off its escape. Rogue, Gambit and Blaze all placed a hand on the edge of the platform and leapt up. The creature merely brushed Kurt to one side as it made for the exit.

"You okay Kurt?" Rogue asked, picking up her fallen comrade.

"I guess so," Kurt replied, letting his adopted sister straighten the collar of his uniform. "What happened?"

"The Spirit-Drinker must've smelt easier prey," Blaze decided. Cheekily she added, "I think he knew you were trouble Nightcrawler."

"I sure showed him huh?" Kurt didn't sound so sure.

"Dis Eighth Street non?" Gambit was trying to get his baring, not being used to public transport.

"Yeah," Rogue replied, pointing out the platform sign. "Why?"

"We got trouble," the Cajun replied. "Eighth Street serves Bayville Stadium. It's Sunday, the big football game is today."

"Manchester City versus Chelsea?" Blaze looked confused, "That was hours ago, you've forgot about the time difference to the UK."

"American football," Rogue replied pedantically. "Bayville are playing in a cup tie, but Ah wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Who won?" asked Kurt, being German and understanding Blaze's point of view.

"City, Robinho scored a hat-trick," Blaze replied. "You think the Spirit-Drinker has sensed the stadium?"

"Forty-thousand people all lined up like one big buffet," Gambit was grim. "We gotta get over there."

"Lead the way," said Blaze, "if there's a free buffet I don't want to be late."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Eleven**

Beast left the engine on the van idling as he leapt out into the rain with Morose in his arms. Vixen and Wolverine had barely landed the jet, and were running headlong to take the X-Van. Their booted feet splashed through the puddles on the mansion's drive, and then they were in the vehicle, wheel-spinning their way through the mansion's gates.

#Bayville Stadium,# Xavier told his daughter, #and hurry. Storm says the weather is changing.#

#We will,# Vixen told her father as Logan threw the van into a tight right-handed corner, fighting the under-steer. To Logan she said, "I'd like to get there in one piece please."

"So hold on," Wolverine told her. "Where we headin'?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The big American football game had just begun and the crowd was going wild for the two teams. If Gambit and the others had been worried about gaining access to the stadium, they needn't have worried. The security team at the stadium's delivery entrance were unconscious on the ground when the X-Men arrived. One man's hand lay outstretched, his radio lost in a deep puddle of rainwater. For the first time in days there was a break in the clouds. Kurt looked up and saw a sliver of blue sky between the blackness of the rain. If it was an omen he hoped it was a good one.

"How we gonna do this?" Rogue wanted to know as they entered the stadium's internal concourse. The bowl of the stadium was like a maze, with one long corridor running all the way around on one level and other corridors, rooms and stairways branching off. The whole thing was a concrete jungle, lit with florescent tube lighting and deserted now the game had started. It wasn't hospitable, but at least it smelt better than the sewers.

"We need to evacuate the stadium," Gambit decided. "An' take out the security cameras or else dis' will all be blamed on us mutants."

"Fire alarms anyone?" Blaze suggested wickedly, flexing her wrists.

"Good plan," Logan said, arriving at a run alongside Vixen. "Blaze, Gambit, go do your thing. Rogue an' Kurt, you come with us."

"You're in charge," Kurt acknowledged Wolverine.

"Damn right," Wolverine replied. "Now get movin', we need to find this critter."

The team split up, four X-Men heading one way and two heading the other. Blaze and Gambit were looking for some kind of control room in order to disable the security systems and protect their identities. Blaze was also on the look out for a good location to set off the fire alarms. Too obvious and the stadium staff would be able to control the situation without needing to evacuate. Too remote and the stadium might still not need to evacuate. They had taken a staircase down into the bowels of the stadium when they passed a door that captured Gambit's interest. He skidded to a halt on the smooth floor, listening to girlish laughter from beyond the door. The label on the door said 'Cheerleaders Locker Room'.

"We should warn them," Remy said, unable to resist. Blaze halted too and raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Save the cheerleaders," she asked him, "or save the world?" She opened her arms, indicating the whole stadium around them.

"Umm," Gambit was debating his options, glancing back from his girlfriend to the door again. Blaze shook her head and grabbed his wrist.

"Wrong answer," she told him. "Come on, this way." Blaze opened a service door with a kick and dragged Gambit in behind her. She had found an industrial switch room, grey and uninviting. Panels of electrical sensors and little blinking LED lights were accompanied by a low buzzing noise of motors and low voltage. Gambit was impressed.

"You been here before Cherie?" he asked, going to a panel labelled 'Security' and flicking the master switch. Across the complex, the CCTV system went down.

"Nope," she told him, "the Professor got the stadium plans off the internet and dropped them in my head. Useful huh?" Blaze lost no time in following Gambit's lead, throwing the switch labelled 'Comms.' All the telephones in the stadium died just like the cameras had.

"Oui," agreed Remy. "Now what about dis fire alarm o' yours?"

"Hmm," Blaze pondered, looking up at the ceiling. "This'll probably do. It'd explain away the electrical faults too, like we were never here."

"How do you wanna do dis?"

"Can you boost me up to that smoke detector?" Blaze asked, pointing at the sensor on the ceiling. "I don't actually want to burn the stadium down. It's not like its Old Trafford or anything."

"Allow me," Gambit offered, cupping his hands in front of him ready to take Blaze's tiny foot. She stepped into his grasp daintily and allowed him to boost her up to ceiling height. Cupping her hands over the sensor she concentrated hard on her powers. Within a few moments smoke was billowing out between her clasped fingers. The smoke detector couldn't take it and all over the stadium alarms started to ring. "Handy trick," Gambit commented, letting Blaze slide through his grip so her feet touched the floor and his hands were on her hips.

"No smoke without fire," Blaze replied, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "You wanna go back for the cheerleaders?" she teased him. In response Remy kissed her properly, their ears ringing with the sound of the alarm sirens. Breaking the kiss, Gambit tipped his head to the door and Blaze nodded her agreement. It was time to get back to work.

As Blaze and Gambit left the switch room, the first wave of evacuating sports fans came running from the stands. Blaze and Gambit rode the wave briefly, blending in with the crowd to allow them to get away from security personnel in bright yellow vests. Then, catching Blaze's hand in his, Gambit made a break free of the crowd and darted towards one of the entrances into the seats.

A strange sight greeted them as the stood at the top of the stand, looking down at the gridiron over deserted seats. The clock on the giant scoreboard was still counting down. The match ball lay abandoned in the centre of the pitch. Scattered trash and forgotten food items were everywhere in the aisles between the seats. It was as though aliens had abducted everyone straight out of the ground. Everyone except the X-Men.

"Nice work," Wolverine praised the young couple as they met up with their teammates by the advertising hoardings that circled the edge of the pitch.

"No probs," Blaze replied, turning in a slow circle to take in the empty stadium around her. "Where's our critter got to?"

"No idea," Wolverine replied, "but it couldn't have got outta here ahead of the crowds."

"Ah don't like this," Rogue said with a shiver. "Why do Ah get the feelin' we're bein' watched?"

"Could be worse," Kurt said brightly, "the rain has stopped at least."

The X-Men suddenly realised that Kurt was right. The rain that had plagued Bayville incessantly for so long had ceased. The clouds were lifting and there was even a sliver of sky visible straight above the team. Vixen and Wolverine shared a worried look. Should they tell Kurt and Rogue about the imminent mortal danger that Destiny had predicted?

Ilehana opened her mouth, about to instruct the team to fall back, when Gambit shouted, "There!" A crimson shimmer darted out from behind the scoreboard, dropping down towards the opposite end of the pitch. The ground shook as the Spirit-Drinker, solid now and menacing, hit the deck. Its huge claws scored lines in the grass of the end zone. It pawed the turf like a bull readying for the charge. Then it turned and _screamed_; its mouth open wide as it ran straight at the X-Men.

Blaze and Gambit used their ranged attacks, but fireballs and exploding cards just bounced off the creature's tough hide like water off a duck's back. Wolverine's claws went snikt through his knuckles as ran forward. By his side ran Ilehana-as-wolf, a sleek grey killing machine with teeth bared. The Spirit-Drinker barely flinched as Vixen pounced. Tentacles spat from the creature's maw, grasping for the animorph. Vixen yelped and twisted away, the tentacles missing her by mere fractions. She hit the ground, landing awkwardly on her left foreleg and rolling top of tail. Kurt bamfed to her side as Logan sliced at the Spirit-Drinker. His claws cut through the tentacles easily, making the Spirit-Drinker recoil in agony…


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

**Scene Twelve**

Across Bayville, Hank was carrying Morose's limp form down to the subbasement. Precisely as Logan sliced through the Spirit-Drinker's tentacles, Morose cried out in pain. In the infirmary, Iceman also screamed. The Morlocks, Michael Hawley and all the other victims of the Spirit-Drinker cried out as one. Professor Xavier inside Cerebro flinched at the noise. He called out to Logan and told him to stop.

#Charles, it's the only thing that's had any effect,# Logan protested.

#There must be something else," Charles told the feral, #keep trying.#

"Rogue!" Gambit yelled, but it was too late. The Southern Belle had gone to help Kurt get Ilehana clear of the fight. With Logan momentarily distracted, the Spirit-Drinker had spat its tentacles out once again, grabbing the girl's ankle. Rogue fell heavily with a grunt, landing on her belly. She tried desperately to crawl away, but the Spirit-Drinker had her by the leg. Its tentacle wrapped round, drawing off Rogue's boot and exposing the bare skin of her foot. Before Gambit or Wolverine could get there Rogue was unconscious, staring vacantly up to the sky as though dead.

"No!" Wolverine roared, launching another frenzied attack on the Spirit-Drinker. Gambit and Blaze used their firepower to keep the monster pinned down, whilst Wolverine darted in close and scored his claws down its flank. Instantly Rogue cried out, and to Logan's horror Rogue's face appeared on the red monster's forehead. The effigy opened her mouth, pain wracking her virtual features. "Logan," she sobbed, "you're hurting us." Then she disappeared. Logan retracted his claws, shocked by what had just happened. Gambit decided to take matters into his own hands, charging seven cards at once and sending them towards the Spirit-Drinker in a sweeping attack.

"Now you gone an' done it," Remy told the Spirit-Drinker, "the deuces are really wild now!"

It had little effect, the cards merely bounced off the Spirit-Drinker, making Kurt teleport Vixen to safety before they were blown to smithereens. One card shot over the Spirit-Drinker's massive shoulder. It hit the scoreboard and blew a hole in it. Wires and sparks tumbled down in a glittering cascade. Blaze and Gambit attacked again, if only to drive the Spirit-Drinker back from Rogue. Blaze saw the scoreboard wobble in the blast from another explosion. Seeing the creature backing up underneath the giant electronic sign she raised her hands and sent a fire-bolt up to hit the board. The scoreboard gave a great creak, then burst free of its moorings. It swung down, wires flailing everywhere, and crashed like a tonne of bricks just to one side of the Spirit-Drinker. Blaze cursed that she had missed, but then something caught her eye.

"Logan! Look," she cried out, "the wires!" Blaze had spotted a loose cable, freed from the scoreboard. It was lashing around, raining golden sparks. The sparks of electricity were spilling onto one of the tentacles Logan had sliced from the Spirit-Drinker earlier. The tentacle was writhing around under the shower of sparks, charring and turning black.

"Nightcrawler!" Logan saw what needed to be done and called in Kurt. The blue mutant understood, teleporting to the wire and then jabbing it at the Spirit-Drinker. Electricity jumped from the end of the wire, striving to zap the Spirit-Drinker. The Spirit-Drinker spun faster than lightening, kicking out at Kurt with one huge clawed leg. Kurt flew backwards with the wire still in hand, hit and advertising board and was trapped. The Spirit-Drinker stood tall in front of him, pinning him with its terrible one-eyed gaze. Kurt tried to look away but couldn't. The tentacles had him before anyone could reach Mystique's son.

"Enough!" Gambit decided, seeing that the monster had just made a basic mistake. He took the metal staff from his trench coat pocket and extended it. Then drawing back his arm he threw the staff hard. Blaze saw what Gambit was doing and at the same time sent a sustained blast of fire from her extended palms. The Spirit-Drinker staggered back under the weight of the fire, right into the path of the staff. The staff struck the fallen scoreboard, acting as a conductor to allow the electricity to jump straight to the Spirit-Drinker.

Lightening sparked, zapping the Spirit-Drinker and illuminating it like 4th July. It juddered and shuddered, as did Kurt and Rogue. Then it turned black as charcoal, writhing on the spot as some kind of black portal opened around it. The wind picked up, becoming a gale that dragged on all of them, sucking them towards the portal. The X-Men who were still standing braced themselves. Blaze's long red hair whipped around frantically, whilst trash was sucked from the stands like confetti raining down on the Spirit-Drinker.

The Spirit-Drinker screamed again, then lost its footing and was dragged into the black void. Its single great eye was wide and frightened in the last moments that Wolverine and the others saw it. Then it was gone, and the schism closed solidly behind it. The last remaining pieces of trash came fluttering down on the X-Men, who stared in disbelief at the place where the Spirit-Drinker had stood.

"What did Ah miss?" Rogue asked, trying to push herself into a sitting position whilst rubbing her sore head. "Is it over?" Kurt equally wanted to know.

"I hope so," Logan told the boy, "I hope so…"

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The sun was shining brightly over Bayville. The day was scorching hot, 'crackin' the flags' as Blaze would say in her Mancunian accent. The birds were singing, the trees were glowing a healthy radioactive green, the grass was springy underfoot and the old mansion sparkled like a polished amber bead. In the gazebo under the trees, Logan doted on Vixen. Ilehana's left arm was in a sling, badly bruised from her fall during the fight with the Spirit-Drinker. Vixen reclined in a wicker chair whilst Logan opened a cold beer for her.

Half way up an old oak tree, Hank sat on a sturdy bough with a good book. Storm knelt by the rose boarder weeding with a trowel, her hair pinned back and her dark skin like mahogany in the sunshine. In the pool Gambit was showing off. The Cajun was racing Berserker and Cannonball from one end of the pool to the other. Blaze, Kitty and Tabitha feigned disinterest whilst they lounged at the poolside in bikinis, sharing the sun cream.

Rogue and Kurt sat with the Professor in the relatively cool shade of the garden room. The full-length French doors were open onto the grounds, and a butterfly flitted in to dance around Rogue's head before landing on a potted azalea. The Professor had been explaining to them about Mystique, her message and the concern she had showed for her children.

"Destiny must've seen us after we got knocked out," Rogue decided. "We must've looked dead to her. Poor lady, Ah hopes she didn't get too much of a fright…"

"Our mother was truly worried about us?" Kurt asked, peering intensely at the Professor.

"Yes Kurt," Charles replied. "She no doubt only acted to foreworn us because of the connection she has with the two of you."

"She's still one messed up lady," Rogue was pragmatic. "Ah don't think we can count on her to do the same thing next time."

"Maybe not," said Xavier, pressing his fingertips together pensively. "Yet maybe there a glimmer of hope for Mystique where there was none before." A joyous whoop interrupted the conversation, making all three mutants glance out into the garden. A horde of youngsters careered across the grass embankment, waving their arms and calling out to each other. Iceman, Jubilee, Magma, Multiple and Golan chased after a wolfish Wolfsbane as she ran away with a Frisbee in her mouth.

In the middle of the gang, the child formerly called Morose played with the rest of them. The change to the little girl since the Spirit-Drinker had been evicted from this dimension was incredible. Her empathy was gone, leaving a well-balanced girl with glossy white hair and bright red eyes. She still had the little goat horns on her forehead, and she could manipulate black-out curtains that affected electrical systems. Charles had worked with her to close off her secondary ability to use the black-out curtains as a trans-dimensional breach, a change she was only to happy to enter into. Happy and contented, Morose no longer seemed a suitable name. A little white ragamuffin with powers to create black-out curtains, she had changed her mutant name to Domino.

"What's gonna happen to Domino, Professor?" Kurt asked as they watched the kids chase Wolfsbane. Giddy with her prize and watching her persuers, Wolfsbane didn't see the pool and she ran straight into it. A tidal wave nearly swamped the girls on the poolside, making them screech. Gambit and the boys dived out of the way of the red wolf as she came up gasping for air, her Frisbee lost underwater. The Professor smiled.

"We've tracked down Domino's parents," the Professor told Kurt and Rogue. "They have been worried sick about her, thinking she had done herself some serious harm. She will be going home to them shortly, but I hope in time that she will return here to Bayville. I intend to provide her with an image inducer like yours Kurt, so that she can go to school without living in fear of her mutation. Hopefully she will be able to recover some of her lost childhood."

"And the Spirit-Drinker," asked Kurt, "will it come back?"

"I certainly hope not," the Professor said coolly. "We were lucky this time that none of the victims seemed to have developed any lasting side effects. We may not be so lucky next time."

Roll credits………………………………


End file.
